1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for retrieving a similar music by using a music content summary, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus in which music content summaries are generated from music files and a similar music is retrieved from music content summaries whose mood and genre are identical with query music requested by a user by using the generated music content summaries.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, to search for music similar to a music file selected from a music data with large capacity by a user, a function of summarizing music contents is essential.
However, in a conventional similar music search method, since a music content summary is not used and the entire music is used in mood classification and similar music search, a search speed is low and errors with respect to search performance occur.
In the conventional similar music search method, when extracting a music summary, a music signal is divided into short segments and well-known audio features such as Mel-Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC), Linear Productive Coding (LPC), and a Zero Crossing Rate (ZCR) of a non-compression zone are extracted from each of the segments to be used, a processing speed is low.
Also, in the conventional similar music search method, when extracting a music summary, since a segment clustering is performed by using a short distance between segments or clustering of segments is performed by using a Hidden Markov Model (HMM) to measure similarity, a classification error occurs due to a complicated configuration of the clustering, a great amount of computation required in forming the model, as well as a long processing time required.
Further, in the conventional similar music search method, when extracting a music feature value for a music mood classification and a music search, since a method of extracting a timbre, a tempo, and an intensity, which are well-known, from the non-compression zone is used, a decoding process of converting a general music file, for example, an MP3 file, into Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) data is required, thereby decreasing a processing speed.
Still further, in the conventional similar music search method, a mood class defined regardless of genre is used, thereby generating a classification error. Specifically, since, in the conventional similar music search method, the similar music is searched by measuring a similarity, regardless of a mood and a genre of music, thereby frequently generating an error of providing music different from that which is expected.
Lastly, in the conventional similar music search method, since pieces of music requested as a result of retrieving are checked by listening to a large part of the music, a long time is required until results are provided.
Accordingly, a method providing improved processing speed for retrieving music similar to the music file and which prevents an error in retrieving the similar music by retrieving the similar music from pieces of music whose mood and genre are identical to music to be searched.